Leave Now
by Le Princese
Summary: Au from show cannon at the end of Rajiin episode: After the unlikely encounter with Rajjin and the Xindi, the enterprise crew, especially T'pol, have new experiences after finding the Xindi ship destroyed with the very same alien woman alive. The crew takes her back onboard in hope for her cooperation to explain the Xindi initiative. Rajjin/T'pol eventual femslash. Some Trip/T'pol
1. Prologue

**Leave Now**

Not my first fanfic, abandoned my last one but if I get enough feedback I'll continue updating this one. And I don't have a beta so some grammar mistakes may escape through, don't mind corrections. Eventual femslash, after action and scifi.

Au on the events after the episode dealing with the xindi and all. Right before impulse and all those Vulcan zombie dudes (sorry if you don't know what I'm talking about) and T'pols trillium (vulcan crack) addiction….no no that's all to be changed in this. I was really intrigued by Rajjiin and thought something so invasive to T'pol would be more significant that one measly episode…plus Iove femslash… but not with Hoshi. :/

****Do not own any star trek franchise or enterprise franchise (wish I owned T'pol) but sadly I have no rights except to this fanfic****

_A Kind of Prologue_

T'pol lay still as Dr. Phlox took the last of his body scans.

"Well you Vulcans are incredibly resilient I must say." Phlox said, with only an answer of silence from the Vulcan female.

"You're clear for duty. Just take it easy to make sure there are no side-effects to whatever this 'Rajiin' has done." The doctor tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder but quickly regretted it when the woman flinched at the contact. T'pol sighed. _What was this woman doing to her? It had almost felt like a-. _She didn't want to finish her thought, she thanked the doctor and left sick bay, retreating back to her quarters. As she sat on her bed she tried to sift through the events that had played out. She remembers her day, the talks about the Xindi, then this slave girl, the privates on the ship had been gossiping about her entering several quarters, including that of the captains, but then again Commander Tucker had told her just the night before about the same gossip between them. The idea of 'neuro-pressure treatments' wasn't believable to many of the crew but T'pol and Trip knew the truth so what did it matter?

T'pol sighed as she prepared a small pot of chamomile tea for herself. Though she would never admit it, she knew there was a hint of…attraction to the young man. She wasn't repulsed by the human, other than his putrid smell after a long day of physical training. The smell of humans was bad enough without their active sweat glands. But this Rajiin, she hadn't even seen her for more than five seconds until she felt a complete gravitation to the other woman, and T'pol had barely noticed any odor but a faint type of flora. T'pol slowly stirred her tea as she accounted earlier through flashes of visions. _The blond curls beckoned T'pol closer to the alien's face. The ridges on her temples, so subtle, what species was she? T'pol could feel the warm caress on her mind begging for entrance, and with swift resistance the caress became a forceful thrust as the blond deep eyes leaned closer and closer into her own, only inches away from a-"_

T'pol let out a desperate breath, not realizing she was holding it, and how long had she been in thought? Her head began to ache at her temples, an unfamiliar pain. She realized recovery may be longer than she had anticipated. Rajiin, seemed not to have melded with her but, perhaps forced her way in, doing something else. The Vulcan wasn't sure. She would have to approach the woman in the morning. With the distance of their holding cell, she was sure the alien woman couldn't get to her so easily.

* * *

T'pol awoke her restful sleep to alarms and red lights flashing. She jumped up and ran out of her quarters still in her skin-tight nightwear, remembering to grab her laser gun and communicator.

*beep* "T'pol to Archer, what is happening on Enterprise" she spoke into her communicator.

"Come to the Med Bay" unexpectedly voiced Commander Tucker. Her worst fears crossed her mind and she began to sprint through the halls of enterprise to get to her crew. When she arrived she saw a large reptilian body sprawled across a table.

"What kind of species has a suicide gland?" she overheard Trip comment. She sighed in relief to see all of her crew intact and an unknown species dead instead of a human. She listened to what had ensued with the Xindi's attack on the ship and the loss of this Rajiin alien. But Archer was hopeful for having one of the Xindi's bodies to do research on.

"Hey, are you okay?" archer asked, snapping T'pol out of her own thoughts analyzing the events.

"Yes" was all she could manage.

"Good because I want an analysis on the scans we took of those Xindi ships and find out what you can about that vortex they went through…" The Vulcan's thoughts drifted until the Captain dismissed her. So much was going on she couldn't take all of it in, even for the enterprise the commotion was unusual. Upon walking out she passed Trip standing in the hallway speaking to Malcom.

"Hey T'pol" Malcom yelled out with a smile, obnoxiously trying to get her attention. She already knew she was in for another dose of the Brit's unique humor.

"Are you going to come to the bridge tomorrow in a robe and bunny slippers?" She looked down at her attire, aware of the joke.

"No, I do not own any bunny slippers. As I recall, they are not compliant with the Starfleet dress code." Malcom's smiling face quickly vanished at T'pol's dead serious tone. She walked off leaving the men with questioning faces in the hallway.

"Hey man why do you always have to be such a jerk?" Trip asked as he nudged his friend with his elbow.

"Owie" Malcom whined dramatically, feigning pain in his ribs "Look it's not my fault your night-time teddy bear has no sense of humor." A comment which earned him a friendly fist to his stomach.


	2. Recapture

**Leave Now**

Chapter One: Recapture

Captain Archers Star log: _It's been a little over a two weeks since the incident with the Xindi and Rajiin. Earlier today Science Officer T'pol used her scans of the ship to track it within a distance in the expanse but with the anomalies ongoing and the interference with our systems it is taking longer than we hoped to pinpoint the ship's exact location. Trillium-D synthesis is still underway. But on a personal note, Commander's Tucker's reinstatement of movie night has been a great success to the ship's morale._

_Archer Out._

It was 22:10 on later that night when T'pol felt a tap on her shoulder in the mess hall. She thought she was the only one there as she read and analyzed scans about the Xindi ship. She turned her head to see Trip inviting himself to sit beside her.

"Hey you know you can't work all the time." Trip noted.

"I do not require as much sleep as-"

"Yeah yeah I know. But you missed another movie night. When you gonna' let loose and watch some old times movies. I bet I have some westerns you'll die for" She saw his puppy-dog face. _Is this what Captain Archer always calls Commander Tucker's 'Southern Charm'?_ She thought, wondering how anyone could be persuaded by such a manor.

"The mission requires me to allot time outside of my normal duties as-" She could see Trip's frown drooping further.

"When is the next movie?" she asked annoyed, giving in to the commander's mood. He immediately smiled and slaped his hand to his knee.

"Next Wednesday, it'll be a blast. Billy the Kid going around shooting up some big, the bad and the ugly…" T'pol's lack of enthusiasm lead Trip to elaborate. "Well it's a western"

"Oh, well that should be interesting" She said monotonously and looked back to her scans. Trip stood up and waved the Vulcan goodbye.

"See ya' next movie night!" and retired for the night. Normally, the commander may have gone to T'pol's quarters but the Vulcan had to stop, at least temporarily, their sessions due to her increasing headaches. Trip understood, though he missed the intimate contact. Until her side-effects from her encounter from Rajiin, she couldn't expend too much psychological energy on less urgent tasks. She knew Trip's insomnia would return but, she would have to risk seeing the commander around the ship on late nights like this so she could heal herself first.

* * *

Next Day:

T'pol was standing in the bridge watching scans of a Xindi ship approaching. Commander Tucker was at her right, Hoshi to her far left and Captain Archer at the front, as Travis Mayweather slowly moved the ship at impulse. A foggy picture of a dark object began to appear on the front monitor.

"Captain did you want me to contact the ship? The reptilian language is very complicated but they may have a translator." Ensign Sato suggested.

"No Hoshi, I want to be as stealth as possible, I don't plan to get into another scrap with the Xindi just yet. After repairs are finished then we'll have them explain for what they did."

As the image grew in size and the ship approached it Archer ordered Travis to stop.

"Captain, It- it looks kind of-"Commander Reed started.

"Deserted. Like the lights are all turned off." Trip finished.

"T'pol, can you scan for life signs. Travis, keep your distance in case we have to abort."

"Captain. The Xindi are capable of tracking our scans to great distances" T'pol warned. And by the look on the Captain's face she knew to keep her inquiries behind tight lips. After pressing a few buttons she gave a report.

"There are only few very faint reptilian bio signs upon the ship. The temperatures are almost freezing."

"What does that mean?" Trip asked.

"Reptiles are cold blooded, so I couldn't imagine what would have happened to allow this."

"So like what, are they hibernating?"

"I don't think so" T'pol answered.

After Trip and T'pol's dialogue Archer commanded T'pol to take scans of the ship as they approached. Boundless information began to scroll across the screens about the ship. There were no limittions or blocks to the information gathered. After a couple minutes T'pol gave her report.

"The ship is completely down except for a primitive distress call. The anomalies we avoided when entering this area may have been the cause of destroying this ship. Alterations in the hull and weapons are consistent with effects of anomalies. The rest of the ship is an unknown technology. The vital signs of the reptilians are barely traceable. I believe they are in a stasis due to a hull breach and-" T'pol hesitated, almost unsure of her information.

"Captain there is another bio sign. It is also faint, it is not Xindi."

"Rajjin." The Captain uttered under his breath.

* * *

In the mission room the Enterprise crew discussed the upcoming plan with the destroyed Xindi ship. Many ideas were flying.

"Captain it is in my opinion that we should part with the scans we have taken. Boarding the ship is too high of a risk with the distress call released and a potential ship coming for a rescue at any moment's notice" The rest nodded at the good point.

"But this Rajiin, she could give us insight if we recapture her alive. I think it's a risk to take." Lieutenant Reed added.

"If she is alive by the time we get there" Hoshi noted.

"Well what about the rest of them. The Xindi? I mean do we just leave em' all there to die? I mean they may get rescued but they may not." Commander Tucker's question brought silence to the room, no one had taken that into consideration.

Archer cleared his throat and finally decided to speak. "T'pol, in this stasis how long do you expect these reptilians to live?"

"At this rate, perhaps over a week or more, I cannot say for sure."

"And this call they put out, you are certain the Xindi will get it."

"With their technology captain I would think they could detect a much lesser signal from far distances."

The captain settled on his thoughts before he spoke. "Well considering the suicidal implant they have inside them I don't suspect that if we did wake them that they would speak to us at all. Until we know how they work we couldn't even attempt to remove it without setting it off, according to DR. Phlox. These Xindi have taken countless lives already on Earth, and frankly if it comes down to a few of these men to our entire planet then the decision has to be made to leave them. But-an attempt to remove Rajiin is priority."

"Captain" T'pol interrupted in protest.

"No, this is what is going to happen. Reed, you will take one of your officers and we will dock the ship. Don't bother taking any scans or artifacts because this is a strict retrieval. Understand?"

"Yes Sir" Reed answered.

"And be as quick as possible. This is a low signal and hopefully it will take some time to reach its destination but I don't want to take any chances. The Xindi snuck up on us once already and I won't have it done again." Reed saluted the captain and left the room as everyone followed. T'pol couldn't help but become nervous but no one could notice the miniscule tweak in her eyebrow giving her worries away.

* * *

T'pol wasn't pacing, Vulcans didn't pace around. But she did find herself slowly walking around the back of the bridge looking at scans. And then walking around again. Each officer waited patiently to hear back from Reed on his status. It had been exactly one minute and six seconds since his last contact from being on the Xindi ship. He was supposed to be on his way back already. Archer sat in his chair, Hoshi was tapping her fingers and Travis was sitting hands on the buttons to detach and drive away at a moment's notice. The crew had an eerie feeling, because due to the track record, something always goes wrong on the enterprise.

"I'm kind of nervous" Trip whispered to T'pol.

"There is no indication of the mission going off tract." T'pol coldly stated.

"Yeah but Reed's our buddy you know, I get nervous every time one of us is out there and I'm not alongside."

'One of us'... the saying seemed almost strange to T'pol. She hadn't always felt so welcomed as a part of the Starfleet team.

*beep* "Captain we are aboard the Enterprise with Rajjiin, she's alive but unconscious. Getting her cell door open took some time but we're heading to the Med Bay now."

They all sighed in relief, T'pol sighed more quietly than the others.

"Thank god Reed" Archer answered. He signaled to Travis who increased the Enterprise's speed and continued off into a safe distance back away from the Xindi ship. After a few Minutes T'pol arrived at the Med Bay to see Dr. Phlox taking scans and injecting the blond alien woman with a substance.

"What is her condition" Phlox jumped in surprise.

"Oh my T'pol please you must really say something before entering in here. I could barely hear you my hearts nearly exploded."

"That was not my intention"

"It's alright T'pol." Phlox responded knowing he wasn't going to get a much more apologetic explanation. He continued. "She seems to have implants in her palms, not like the Xindi. I took scans of her body and for some reason this time around I could see them. I don't know how it could have swept passed me the first time."

"Whatever her species is, they have a capability of mind manipulation. It is possible you did not check her hands because she did not wish you to."

"Ah well yes I suppose but-"

"Is she in a stable condition?"T'pol asked impatiently.

"She is still unconscious due to the oxygen loss and I have not yet tried to wake her but I believe it will happen with no problem" Phlox could hear the tightening of a metal cuff onto his Medical Table.

"A precaution" T'pol stated as she cuffed the blond woman's wrists. Phlox gulped as he saw the laser gun clipped to T'pol's waist.

"Well let me get the rest of my things" He said as he scurried off into a closet. The Vulcan cautiously stepped closer to the sleeping body. T'pol's eyes peered closely at the texture and tone of the sleeping woman's tan skin. She found herself placing her fingertips gently on the blonde's fingers wondering about her implant. Her heart began to race and she didn't know why. She brought her hand up to the blonds face, brushing strands away from her forehead. She admired the curls in her hair, much looser and messier now than their last encounter. Phlox cleared his throat which made T'pol jump back a little. _How long had he been standing there?_

"Okay so here we go." Phlox said as he injected the woman into the neck. The two aliens waited for a response. Slowly the blonde's brown eyes began to open, and a fogginess seemed to blanket the woman.

"I think she'll have to get used to consciousness again. She isn't waking as quickly as I would have thought-" Phlox was interrupted by a strange moan from the drowsy woman. Rajiin turned her head toward T'pol and let out the words,

"Mmm babe please let me stay in bed a little longer. We'll play some more later." and drifted back into a sleep. Phlox's jaw hung from his mouth while T'pol's eyes widened to a point of surprise that couldn't be hidden from anyone.


	3. Altercation

**Leave Now**

Chapter Two: Altercation

_Captain's Star log:_

_RaJiin Has boarded the Enterprise ship and is being held in the main holding cell until information is gathered. News on the damaged Xindi ship is still being processed by Science officer T'pol with Ensign Hoshi's help with the translation. We can only hope that this Rajiin can help us figure out how to stop the Xindi before they come back to find her._

_Archer out_

Sparks flew out from a lab room and Commander Tucker and T'pol ran out for safety. Trip stopped to catch his breath, hunching over and huffing between his words.

"Well – at least- we didn't blow- the whole damn room this time."

"Indeed" T'pol answered, rubbing her fingers along the sides of the bridge of her nose.

"Hey, you okay there? Still getting those headaches?" T'pol stood straight up, hoping her lapse in emotion would be ignored.

"Unfortunately, they seem to be intensifying."

"Well why don't you have the doc look at ya'?" Trip suggested, outing a friendly hand on the Vulcan's shoulder.

"I am very aware of my body commander tucker. I do not need Phlox's aid in my condition. Meditation eases the pain."

"oh" Trip wondered "Hey I know tis not gonna' happen anytime soon but I do hope that one day me and you can-uhm- get back to the treatment for my sleep"

"Perhaps soon Commander Tucker."

"Hey will you ever call me Trip, I mean I think we've become close enough-" He got his answer with the blank stare from the Vulcan, perhaps with a hint of aggravation. He brushed his hands down the length of his uniform, brushing any ash off.

"Okay let's get back to this Trillium-D, hopefully we won't blow the damn ship up on the way" he joked. T'pol followed him back into the lab room where they continued their attempts.

Meanwhile Captain Archer stood with Ensign Hoshi Sato at his side staring into the glass holding room where a blond woman sat, arms cuffed in front of her, sipping from a cup.

"Captain, these are the rest of the translated scans, T'pol and I worked on yesterday."

"Where is my science officer?"

"Uh- well I believe she is with Commander Tucker, working on a trillium coating for the ship." The captain smiled.

"I almost forgot how many hats everyone wears on this ship"

"Yeah, well as long as we get the Xindi, I don't think anyone is going to complain." He nodded in understanding and took the scans. He approached the main pane of the glass prison cautiously, he knew this woman had abilities beyond his understanding and h didn't want to get too close. With a push of the intercom he gets the attention of the alien woman.

"Rajiin, if that is actually your real name." The blonde woman puts down her cup and faces the captain.

"To you, my name is Rajjin." Ensign Sato began to get chills, remembering her own strange encounter with the alien. She spoke with such certainty.

"Well I have a few questions for you and I am wondering how cooperative you will be." The blonde scoffed.

"I honestly doubt that you will torture me Archer. Seems your species isn't as tough as you first made it seem to be."

"Did you learn that from your scans?" The alien kept quiet.

"Look Rajiin, you're right, excessive force is not a part of what my morals are, but I can give you many instances where my species has had no problem getting what we want at any cost. When it comes to survival, I assure you, morals becomes flexible." Rajjin squints her eyes, weary of the captain. She wonders if the humans are as aggressive as they seem. Hoshi steps forward looking directly at the alien woman.

"I know we aren't Xindi, if you work for them or are a slave to them, you're free now, and you have us to worry about though. They're gone and they're not going to save you, and if they do they'll probably kill you for being captured again. We need your help, you have a chance to live here, but don't ever forget that we have no problem dispensing you back on that ship for you to suffocate slowly."

Her comment shock the captain more so than Rajiin. He looked at his officer wondering where such courage had come from, proud that the young woman was finally growing into her uniform.

"Seems the female of your species has more cunning that the other. I'll think about it Archer." Rajiin' answered, and turned back to her cup in silence. Archer and Hoshi walked off, he placed a meaningful hand on her back as they walked out. She had surprised even herself, but it felt good to take charge.

* * *

The end of a long work day had finally come. Most of the enterprise crew was off duty. T'pol on the other hand was headed to the mess hall for her routine cup of tea and scans analysis. On the last planet some of the crew had acquired some liquor and were celebrating Rajiin's capture in the half- functioning recreation room (it had been destroyed by the anomalies but with slow repairs it had become habitable). T'pol wanted no part of the celebration. As she walked down the halls of the ship her head began to hurt again, she sensed something in her mind. With her headaches came a sensitivity to sound and a weakening of her emotional barriers, but she was sure none of the touchy-feely homo-sapiens would notice her subtleties.

_Vulcan._ She heard in between her ears. Was she imagining things?

_Vulcan, Rajiin_. She stopped in her tracks and looked around, no one was near her. She decided to change her course and walk toward the noise she felt.

_Vulcan. Vulcan. Rajiin_.

To her surprise she stood in front of an enormous door reading **HOLDING CELLS. LIMTIED PERSONEL ONLY**. She put a code into the door and entered. She wasn't sure why but she stepped very lightly into the dim room, there were only faint lights lining the floor. She barely breathed through her nose as not to make a disturbance. CLICK, the lights in a large cell turned on and the Vulcan turned to face it. Rajiin stood in draping fabrics, leaning against the side of the cell with a hand at her hip with her teeth biting at her bottom lip. She had a silent beauty about her. T'pol began to sweat from her temple, trying so hard to ignore her heart rate increase and heat emanating from her body. _Sexy_ was the only human word she could think of.

The blonde began to open and close her mouth as if she was speaking but the Vulcan was puzzled, she couldn't hear anything. Rajjin grinned realizing the dark-haired woman couldn't hear. She licked her lips and pointed with her thin fingers to the intercom. T'pol approached it, carefully turning it on.

"Nice to see you pointy- ears." The Vulcan would normally take that as an insult but from Rajjiin it almost sounded like a pet-name. The prisoner's voice was slightly raspy from lack of sleep. It sent vibrations through the Vulcan's chest.

"Hello." T'pol forced out.

"Hello. You're the one I-"

"I am one of many you tried to force t take scans from. You could have injured us all in the process." Perhaps the anger would mask her more base feeling. Rajiin' laughed at the response.

"They weren't in any harm. But you- you fought hard, harder than I've ever felt. I could've killed you, you know."

"I doubt that, considering the predicament you're in." The Vulcan responded. Rajiin sighed, pressing her whole back against the side of the wall, looking deeply at her dark-haired company.

"I suppose. (She paused hesitantly) I don't apologize for anything okay, I get paid to do what I do. But I didn't mean you any harm." The confession made the Vulcan dart her eyes away, she was not used to such intimate conversation.

"Why are you speaking with me?"

"You came in here pointy. Not me." Rajiin' smiled.

"You are correct" The Vulcan took her finger off the intercom and turned to leave. She heard a bang from behind her and looked back to a frustrated Rajiin' hitting her hand at the front plane of glass. The Vulcan walked back and faced the woman. If there was no glass between them, they would be only inches apart.

"What is it you want?" T'pol asked coldly.

Rajiin looked down at her hands. "You intrigue me pointy." Her brown eyes slowly met with T'pol's; the Vulcan's breath was immediately pulled out of her. She wanted to speak but she could only find her view shifting from Rajiin's eyes to her plump lips.

"Perhaps under better circumstances me-and-you could have become friends. It seems me and you have much in common." She saw Rajiin's hand light up as it trailed up the glass, the warmth from it just caressing the Vulcan's mid-section. Her eyes began to close. _This feels amazing,_ she thought. The sudden memory of forcefulness and intrusion flashed before her eyes and she stepped back out of Rajiin's reach. Her face was a mix of shock and anger.

Trying to control herself, the Vulcan answered. "You know nothing of my life!" with her voice slightly raised. She stormed out of the Holding Cell continuing her night of scans. She had to get her mind off of this encounter, it would take a couple hours of meditation to cease the heat rushing through her bones and the headache forming between her temples.

* * *

The next morning T'pol and Dr. Phlox stood in the sick bay across form Captain Archer.

"So you're sure that Rajiin' didn't say anything while she was coming to. Her mood swings are incredibly unpredictable. Anything can help." T'pol glanced cautiously at Dr. Phlox, hoping he remained silent about the unusual phrase sit out by the blonde.

"No captain, nothing more than gibberish" Phlox flashed a side-smile that T'pol pretended to ignore. She felt relief.

"Captain, what do you mean by mood swings?" She asked just as Archer was departing.

"She's been set on stubborn of not talking to us since she's got here but for some reason she's willing today. IT's like a whole new person, I just don't want this to be some kind of a trick. We all have to be careful with her." The Captain paused. "Maybe Hoshi's advice got to her." _Perhaps, _the Vulcan thought.

Once Archer left the Vulcan turned to Phlox.

"Thank you for that, it would have been—embarrassing if –"

"No need T'pol, I'm happy to help" He answered with a wide smile. She nodded and continued.

"The captain wants to know if we can do anything to block her, abilities."

"Well I don't know the extent to them. I believe the manipulation is a given from her pheromones. She has a heightened level this chemical a kin to the scent from roses. It seems she causes excessive releases in dopamine in humans."

"What about her implants, her scanning ability"

"Well like the Xindi's gun it seems to be able to connect with her body. I'm not a engineer but I doubt we can safely remove the without killing her. I haven't worked out all of it but with her chemicals and the energy from her implants she is a lethal con artist."

"So do you suggest we have her subdued at all times?" The Vulcan asked. Phlox, giggled.

"No, not at all, I need some assistance perhaps from a boy in engineering, don't bother Trip if he's busy. I think I can create a kind of bracelet that I can insert in here and here that will at least disable the scanning ability but I'm not sure if it will help with all the other things." The doctor paused after pointing to the body scans on a screen. The woman's biology seemed so different than their own. T'pol made a note to further research her species in her down time.

"What a fascinating woman." Phlox noted, still hypnotized his findings. T'pol quietly left Phlox to his thoughts, but in her mind she knew her agreement with the doctor was exact.

* * *

As T'pol made her way to the Trillium lab she got wind of Trip out of the corner of her eye. She could see he was nervous as she walked up to him as he left speaking to a group.

"Commander Tucker." She greeted.

"Uhh- T'pol."

"Are you all right Commander?" She motioned to his face which bored the beginnings of a black eye and a busted lip, badly hidden by caked make-up. He looked down, grinning with guilt.

"Uhm, yeah I'm okay, I just got into a little scuffle at the little celebration last night. One thing to note is that alcohol brings out the worst in humans."

"Hmm" She said out of her nose. Trip didn't want to seem like a brute.

"But-uh- well- it wasn't me that initiated anything. I mean yeah it was stupid fighting over you-a girl. Idontknow- ihadtostickupforyou" He rushed through his teeth. T'pol looked at him in silence.

"Look T'pol just because you're different doesn't give any of the crew the right to say-well disrespectful things about ya'. Where I come from you treat a lady with dignity, no matter what species she is."

"T'pol nodded, "No explanation needed. I will be in the lab getting started. And thank you Commander."

"What? For what?" Trip questioned.

"I believe you humans use the phrase 'sticking up for one another'. " Trip smiled.

"Well we stick up for our own." He laughed. As she walked away Trip could have sworn he saw the side of her lips turn up in a grin.

* * *

_A/N: Now I don't recall any rec room but I imagine if you're on a ship in space for years on end there has to be more than a cafeteria on board. Again sorry for the typos, no beta, next time I'll fix all of them, it's a lot to reread it all and edit. Reviews Welcomed. What do you guys think so far?_

_P.S: this also seems T'pol/ Trip centric I know so I think I'm going to add him to the characters on the info. But all of the cast makes an appearance. I don't know. If he shows up it doesn't change the whole Rajiin/ T'pol sequence. No matter how much I'd love to I can't just boot trip out, he's such a nice guy an him and t'pol have chemistry and that's that_.


	4. Hazardous Success

A/N: I don't know how much longer I'm going to continue the story but I guess until my muse stops, pm or review if you want to know anything but for now its still on. Again, no Beta so sorry for any mistakes.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM STAR TREK SERIES INCLUDING STAR TREK ENTERPRISE.**

Chapter Three: Hazardous Success

T'pol wiped droplets of sweat off of her forehead. She and Commander Tucker had been working on the Trillium-D synthesis for days straight now. She was avoiding public places, no not avoiding, jut working diligently on her cause. The more time that passed, the more vulnerable the Enterprise ship began to anomalies and the Expanse environment. There was also the bonus of avoiding any contact with Rajiin' after their last awkward encounter. Even with limited contact with the Enterprise crew, due to a constant escort, T'pol began to overhear some of the men speak about the sideways glances they exchanged with the blond alien. She preferred not to deal with the prisoner as long as she was on the ship.

Why is it so warm in here, she asked herself silently as she checked the temperature of the room. She was cautious but not distressed with her task, so it couldn't have been an emotional reaction. She tried to shake the feeling off. Slowly, with a long plier-like tool she picked up a Trillium sample and placed it on top of a microscope. She placed the pliers at the side of the microspore and looked in. She compared her findings to the instructions. As she scrolled down the diagrams of the molecular structure, a soft female voice startled her.

_T'pol._ A shiver ran through her spine and up to her ear. She gently rubbed her ear wondering if she was imaging things.

_T'pol._ She heard again. She lifted her eyes from her microscope but as she looked around the lab room she only saw emptiness. The room was eerily silent and still. She went back to her work, ignoring the noises, perhaps it was the expanse, the crew often heard strange unexplainable.

"T'pol Hey!" she jumped at a sudden contact to her shoulder. She quickly turned accidentally knocking the pliers across the room, realizing her mistake she grabbed the arm touching her and ran out of the lab before the pliers could reach the static vials of the highly unstable Trillium samples. Just in time the two forms crouched behind the wall outside the lab room as black hot smoke exploded outward as the fire-proof door closed behind them. She could hear the deep breathing expelling from Trip's lungs as she closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves from the situation. When she finally looked into his eyes he gave her a crooked smile.

"Uh, hey." He spoke between breaths.

"Hello Commander Tucker" she spoke, already more adjusted than Trip.

"Sorry about-"

"It's alright, you surprised me, that's all. We must be more careful when dealing with this substance."

"I know but honestly I didn't think Vulcans could be scared" He laughed. She stood up, unappreciative of his comment. She brushed some soot off her backside.

"Vulcans have emotions like anyone else commander, but I was **not** afraid despite your intentions."

"Well I didn't try to-"The Vulcan cut him off as she lent a helping arm to lift him off of the ground.

"Commander it's fine, this isn't the first accident, but perhaps it is the last."

"What do you mean?"

"I've found the solution to creating Trillium-D. It is possible to harden it into its solid form and coat the ship with it."

"What but how, thought that we weren't even close"

"I spent some of my free time working." T'pol noted.

"Hmm. Well alright, you know the Cap' is gonna' be pissed we blew up another room right? We told him last time it wouldn't happen again. I hope he doesn't put me on cleaning duty for this."

"That would be…undesirable" T'pol agreed. The pair continued down the halls of the ship toward sick bay. The walk was so routine after all the past accidents that neither one of them had to say anything about going there for protocol.

T'pol sat on Phlox's patient table. He was silently looking at her brain scans on the screen.

"T'pol are you getting any headaches or anything like that."

"Yes.

I assumed they were an after effect of… of what happened with the current prisoner" it would be harder to say her name. "It did not hinder my abilities to work" She added for clarification.

"Either way, it would have been beneficial if you went to me first. Your brain scans are irregular, I haven't seen anything like this in Vulcan's before. It wasn't there in the last tests I performed. But I will have to keep an eye on you. I have something that will help with the headache, it doesn't seem to be harming you in any way so you are cleared for work for now." Phlox shuffled through his drawers to find a serum for the Vulcan.

"Well you haven't been the only one to come to me for headaches. The stress of the Expanse takes a far greater toll on the humans" Phlox sighed. "I've ran out, I have to go to the supply room to find what I need. I'll only be a second."

T'pol waited patiently for the doctor. She closed her eyes trying to get a quick meditation in. It was peaceful in the sick bay. She opened her eyes to the door sliding open, but instead of Dr. Phlox she saw a Starfleet officer walk it with a cuffed Rajiin' trailing beside her. The officer led the blonde alien to where the beds were, it almost seemed as if the blonde didn't register the Vulcan sitting there as they passed. T'pol wondered why the woman seemed so distant. The officer sat her down and closed a curtain around the bed and approached T'pol.

"Please make sure she doesn't go anywhere, I have to find the doctor. " Before she could protest the officer was already out of sick bay. T'pol sat very still, unsure of Rajiin's awareness of her. She couldn't hear the other alien woman, only her own shallow breaths as her chest rose and fell. It was too quiet, she kept an eye on the closed curtain out of the corner of her eye but perhaps it was possible for the woman to escape through the other side. Her heart began to race as the thoughts ran through her head, if Rajiin' escaped than she could potentially and… a panic overtook her and she stood u and walked over the long curtain. She took a deep breath and pulled it open.

She was relieved to see a sitting Rajiin' but her heart dropped at the sight of such a sad woman, her head hung below her shoulders as she hunched over the side of the bed. The blonde looked up at her with a forced smile.

"Pointy ears, how's it going" she asked as she sat up straight. Now the Vulcan could see her shackled ankles while her hands were in some type of metallic glove.

"I am…" T'pol wasn't sure how to answer the question, the dark brown eyes that had once drawn her to the alien woman were now so dull and lifeless.

"Are you injured?" T'pol inquired. The blonde shook her head and sighed.

"I'm perfectly fine. That man had to go speak to some doctor- I don't know. I just have to sit here and stay on my 'best behavior'"

"Why are you still retrained?" the blonde scoffed at the question.

"Well, after being interrogated by Officer Reed, I may have tried to seduce one of my little body guards. I was sick of being cooped up in a room. You know for such a smart man, Archer really picked an idiot to get information from me."

"Lieutenant Reed is a high ranking-" T'pol started in defense of her peer.

"Well he isn't very personable. Interview doesn't go so well when a puny man calls you a worthless whore and a doormat to the Xindi. As you can imagine I wasn't so keen on talking nice with him."

"The Xindi attack on earth is a very fresh wound. When upset they can react in irrational manors." T'pol tried to defend.

"Earth. Is that your home planet?" The question puzzled the Vulcan, she assumed with how intrusive Rajiin' was that she knew of the distant planets.

"No, it is on place where the human race resides, I come from another planet."

"You don't have to be vague, Pointy, there's no way now I'll tell the Xindi about where you're from." T'pol took a moment to let her mind settle. She wasn't so trustful of this woman, but there was something about her eyes that made her feel like she could. Rajiin' lifted her bound hands to scratch her nose but the sudden movement made T'pol shift her stance.

"Don't worry, I can't hurt you. These things on my hands, they block my scans. And the Captain has me so loaded on whatever he gave me I can't imagine I can read anyone without harming myself."

_Drugging a prisoner is uncharacteristically to Archer's moral code. _T'pol thought.

"Read. That is what you call what you do?" T'pol asked flatly.

"Yeah, it's what I do. It's what I've always some, but I didn't know how strong it was until-until I met the Xindi. Before I just used it to make it easier to get a customer. If I knew what he wanted I could give him his fantasy. But with the implants, it heightened it to a million. It was like I could see the very being of what made a person."

"You have a useful ability. Does your entire species have your same genetics?"

"What do I know, I've only heard of my planet and that was years ago. I go from place to place, whoever is the highest bidder."

"In the human culture slavery is forbidden" The blonde scoffed.

"Well, good for the humans I guess. But sex is one of the biggest markets in the universe. " She laid on the bed and lifted her feet up. She awkwardly waved a bound hand to invite T'pol to sit beside her. The Vulcan sat down at Rajiin's feet, far away from her eyes. The Vulcan felt a warm caress up and down her back. She tried not to look at her but she could see Rajiin's eyes following the same pattern she felt.

"What are you doing?" T'pol barked.

"Nothing at all." Rajiin' responded with a sultry voice.

"If you try to escape, it will be swift to find you and put you back in a holding cell."

"No need to threaten pointy ears. I've learned my lesson. I just sense this insatiable connection to you for some reason. How you fought me, my reading, it was-" T'pol couldn't stomach the memory. She stood up and took a step away from Rajiin. She turned her head toward her while her back was still facing the blonde woman.

"It is unfortunate that you feel that way without the mutual emotion." T'pol walked through the curtains as if walking through a black hole, relieved on the other side that she was not sucked in. Phlox walked into the sickbay with the officer at his side and a large box in his arms. As the officer talked him to death he walked over to T'pol and administered a shot for her. He turned around telling the officer to excuse him, he wanted to further discuss the Vulcan's state of being but she was already gone when he turned to face her again.

* * *

Later That Day

T'pol was walking toward the situation room outside the bridge soon after a call from Captain Archer. As she entered she could see his slightly annoyed and tight jawed face.

"Captain." She greeted plainly.

"Trip tells me that you've finally found a way o synthesis Trillium safely, despite the explosion that happened earlier." The Vulcan nodded.

"What occurred had nothing to do with the process of synthesizing the element. It was a sudden accident."

"Well don't worry, not that you would of course. I'm not angry, you'll have to answer more to the clean-up crew then you do to me."

"I understand. Is that all Captain?"

"No actually." He hesitated before continuing. "Hoshi has pretty much finished the translation of the scans from the Xindi ship. I just wanted you to look over them, there's no mention of why Rajiin' was on board or the weapon they used on the attack on Earth." He handed T'pol the schematics and she quickly browsed them. She took a moment to analyze the information.

"From Ensign Sato's findings it seem to suggest that this is a prisoner's ship. Nothing else. Their technology is very strange, biomechanics as you know. The entire ship is a kin to a living organism." She handed back the schematics.

"Their technology, do you think we can deconstruct it?" The despair on Archer's face was something any member of the Enterprise crew rarely saw. But T'pol could be nothing but honest.

"There are low odds captain. In essence, a child can pull apart a nuclear reactor and look at its parts but without the technological understanding, cannot explain its purpose. In my opinion, the most rational course of action would be to try and find a weakness instead of an explanation." The Captain rubbed his chin with contemplation, T'pol noticed the slight scruff forming, it was the end of the day and the human's '5 o clock shadow' was growing. Humans were much more harrier than any Vulcan. And it was not 5 o clock, she never understood the relevancy to the phrase.

"I'll send out an order the halt the deconstruction to work on finding the chinks in the Xindi armor. Hopefully we'll have a speedier outcome." The captain walked over to a drawer and pulled out a bottle of vividly blue Andorian wine and a glass. He poured a small amount and took a sip.

"I think we both deserve a long break from all this." T'pol stood silently.

"Trip told me they've moved movie night up a night. I heard they're playing an old science fiction movie about giant ants or something. It might be entertaining. Do you have any plans?"

"n-no Captain, 'movie night' is not something I-" The captain raised his hand in protest.

"It's an order T'pol. I won't have you over working yourself another night. I've had a few sources telling me that they see you walking like a zombie with your work glued to your face."

"I think that is an exaggeration. And I do not see how watching an old film is suitable to the cause of the mission."

"Work hard, pay hard T'pol. I expect you there tonight."

* * *

T'pol entered the cafeteria to a room full of bodies from one end to another with chairs set up in rows. She could see the smiling and laughing faces of countless humans, she even spotted Phlox talking to some random woman. It was so casual, most in their pajamas or Starfleet sweats. T'pol was one of the only people still in their uniform. Hoshi Sato was waving her down to come over, and she begrudgingly walked toward her.

"Hey T'pol I saved you a seat!" She beamed though her white teeth.

"How did you know I was coming?"

"Word gets around" she mumbled as she stuffed a handful of popcorn in her cheeks. "Wan' shome?" She asked with a full mouth. T'pol politely declined. The lights began to dim and Trevor rushed into the aisle and sat next to Hoshi. He was smiling until he saw T'pol sitting beside the Asian woman, his face quickly turned to confusion.

"T-T'pol? What are you doing here?" Hoshi nudged Trevor in the side and whispered "don't be such an ass"

"I-I-I mean well I though you normally don't go to these things that all." He corrected as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

"I am here due to an order from the Captain." Trevor tried to cover his mouth but his hysterical laughter was inevitable. Hoshi rolled her eyes in aggravation and worded to his "ASS". Trevor tried to explain himself to T'pol through fits of laughter, he could see the Vulcan was trying to ignore him.

"Look I'm sorry I just never heard of a person getting forced to have fun. What?" he asked as Hoshi narrowed her eyes at him. T'pol stayed silent as the film finally started.

She had to admit, it was…interesting. Though the concept not only violated laws of basic biology it was poorly portrayed in its special effects. It wasn't that entertaining to her and she couldn't understand why any person could find it to be believable.

About half through the movie, a light shone from the side of the cafeteria and two dark figures walked in. One was shorter than the other, and standing in front of the others. It seemed like the taller was leading the smaller toward the back of the crowd. T'pol quickly averted her eyes toward the screen, she knew exactly who the small figure was. For just a moment, she closed her eyes to calm her rapid heartbeat. The action had not gone unnoticed by Hoshi.

As the film came to an end and the lights went back to their original brightness many of the crew began to get up and leave while others remained and conversed. T'pol wondered how long the movie had been, toward the end her mind seemed to be elsewhere. The three Enterprise members stood together. Trevor and Hoshi discussed the 'amazing' movie they had just seen while T'pol stood silently. She did not want to offend her crewmates by leaving all of a sudden.

"So what did you think T'pol?" Hoshi asked excitedly.

"It was a very unrealistic visualization of insectoids." T'pol saw a wave of disappointment pass over Hoshi's face. "But the film itself was, what you all call 'retro'. For the time of its production I must say it was intriguing" She quickly added which put a faint smile back on the linguist's face.

"Caution! Caution! Approaching from rear" Trip approached waving fully extended arms slowly around his head.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hoshi giggled.

"Didn't wanna' scare T'pol into another explosion" He joked, winking at the Vulcan.

"Oh yeah I heard about that. The whole wing was damaged, people were pissed." Trevor chimed in.

"The fire door to the lab concealed the explosion entirely within the room." T'pol corrected. And 'oh' like expression crossed over Trevor's face. As the bridge crew chatted and the room began to clear out, Rajiin' and another guard walked slowly passed the crew. Rajiin's brown eyes were transfixed on T'pol, staring through her loose blonde locks covering her face. The crew didn't notice it, all looking at her bound hands.

"I don't know why they keep her locked up like they do. It ain't right." Trip started "I know I lost my sister in the attack but ever since that woman got back on board it's like she's not even alive. Don't sit right with me."

"The Captain knows what he's doing. Who knows what she was up to?" Hoshi explained.

"Well an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind' ya' know" Trip answered.

"I don't know I agree with Hoshi. We're in a war, we're not just a crew of exploration anymore." Trevor noted.

"Yeah but we can't be monsters, we can't stoop to their level. And I hear she started talking and then just stopped, out of nowhere. She's drugged up so she can't do anything but how's that going to help her be clear enough to explain?"

"Reed is a good interrogator. He'll break her." Hoshi said coldly, shocking Trip and Trevor into silence. T'pol cleared her throat and all the other three turned their heads toward her.

"I must retire for the night" T'pol excused herself and left the conversation.

"She seem a little off to you?" Trevor asked.

"Yeah I mean she was like completely violated by that woman, it has to be hard hearing about her."

"But we all were" Trevor added.

"I'll go talk to her, Trip said just before he left the room. Trevor and Hoshi stood together watching the southern man run.

"Trev, but think about it. She knew it was happening. None of us did."

"Hey wait up!" T'pol heard from down the hallway. She was at her door but turned around to see Trip jogging towards her. He stopped and put a hand on her arm. She did not enjoy the contact.

"I cannot do the nuero-pressure treatment tonight Commander Tucker. I require sleep."

"No-no it's alright. Trust me I'll survive. You just seem off your game tonight. Is everything alright?" T'pol didn't understand what he meant.

"I am as I always am commander." She answered, causing Trip to let out a giggle.

"How philosophical, well I don't know you just looked like you needed something, well I don't know im just here if you need a friend or someone to talk to." T'pol fell the anger and aggravation boil within her. Why was she reacting so emotionally lately? She controlled her outward display in complete calmness.

"If I 'needed' anything, commander, I would have no problem asking. I do not understand the intrusion you humans have and the mistaken realizations of something wrong simply because you have a stimuli in your intestine. What could I possibly need other than sleep or food or-" All of a sudden T'pol could feel a hand press on her hip and pull close into Trip's warm body. It happened before she could react, he pressed his lips on hers, almost chaste with a sprinkle of admiration. As he let go and backed away an image of a blonde woman flashed in T'pol's mind.

"Maybe that's what you needed from a friend. Goodnight." He smiled and walked away, leaving the Vulcan speechless. She couldn't help but feel a loss, as if it had almost been perfect. She touched her lips and could still feel the warmth from his surprisingly soft lips. It would take hours of meditation to get over what had just happened and she was thankful no other crewmen were around to see what had happened.

* * *

The Next Day

It was break for the Enterprise Crew. T'pol had been assigned to go over the rest of the Xindi ship scans with Hoshi so they could present a report to Starfleet Command. She was relieved not to have to work with Trip after their late-night exchange. But of course, he approached the table with tray in hand and sat down at the round table across from T'pol and Hoshi.

"How's the burger today" He asked the linguist

"Same as any day" She answered drearily.

"T'pol." He greeted with a wide smile.

"Commander." T'pol answered. Trip let out a sigh.

"Look I just wanted to apologize, honestly it was out of line. I don't want you to think that I tried to be anything more than friends and well- " T'pol noticed Hoshi's eyes widening in the suspense as a French fry stuck out of the side of her mouth. T'pol cleared her throat and interrupted trip's apology.

"No need commander I completely understood the circumstances. As I said your species are often mistaken about the needs of other."

"Sooo, we're cool?"

"Our professional relationship has not changed" She answered.

"Awesome! Okay well I'm going to sit with the boys. See ya' later ladies." He picked up his tray and walked to another table where Reed and other men sat. T'pol looked over to Hoshi as she could hear her slow munching on her food. Her face was expecting an explanation but T'pol was not going to provide one without question.

"What the hell was that?" Hoshi asked, a little louder than T'pol would have been comfortable with. The Vulcan looked down at her salad.

"It was nothing."

Hoshi scoffed. "That was most definitely not nothing. What happened last night?" Hoshi said raising her eyebrows up and down with innuendo. T'pol's jaw tightened at the thought.

"Absolutely not. It was a miscommunication. For some reason Commander Tucker was under the assumption that I was trouble" she said matter-of-factly.

"And-?" Hoshi probed.

"And he, in the middle of my dialogue, may-well-he did kiss me." Hoshi squealed and tapped her feet in excitement.

"Oh my god I feel like I'm having girl talk. This is so awesome."

"What is this girl talk?"

"Well it's like…" Hoshi though of how to explain and ended up sighing, not wanting to go through another conversation about human customs. "Watch a romantic comedy with me and you'll understand."

"Alright then." T'pol answered.

"How was it?"

"How was what?" T'pol asked genuinely unaware.

"The kiss, how was the kiss? Did you get butterflies or did-"

"I do not own any earthly insects."

"No-n-no. Like the funny feeling in your stomach that says you like someone."

"Vulcan and human anatomy are very different." T'pol noted with an arched eyebrow.

"Ughhhh" Hoshi let out in frustration. "Do you like him, think he's cute? Anything?" Hoshi motioned her hands as she said each word. T'pol chose her words carefully.

"He is enjoyable to work with (pause, with Hoshi's death stare for more information, she continued) He is…attractive."

"Great so you should totally date him. You two would be a catch"

"No, Vulcan courting ritual-" T'pol tried to explain.

"Pffft. You are not on Vulcan anymore girl. It's time to indulge on the human things in life" She motioned her hands in an arch shape, as if presenting a special gift.

"I have no desire to court him or have him court me." T'pol stated and Hoshi sighed.

"All right. If you change your mind let me know." She stuffed a handful of French fries in her mouth. T'pol, disgusted by the sight went back to delicately eating the leaves in her salad.

"And itsh **dating** T'pol. No one's courted since the sixchteen cshentury."


	5. Decisions

Chapter Four: Decisions

It was early morning, T'pol was working with Trip again and was in the process of explaining her find on synthesizing Trillium when she heard a voice on the intercom. "T'pol and Tucker to the bridge." They stopped what they were doing and followed the order. They met Archer, Reed, Hoshi and Trevor at the Bridge. An image of a planet was on the large screen in front of them. Captain archer was already in his chair.

"It is a space-travelling civilization, with plenty of contact between intelligent species. Its small but its habitable, there are many trading posts on the surrounds satellites."

Just as Archer finished speaking, T'pol could make out five or six asteroid-like rocks surrounding the planet.

"We are going to chart a course to see what supplies we can use for repairs. They've already granted us access to land."

"Are we sure the Xindi have not influenced this planet as well?" T'pol asked.

"I doubt it, No reptilian Xindi biosigns were spotted. It will just be pit stop, two or three days. It is a needed vacation."

"There was some information in our database on the planet, they are neutral to every species. It's safe for most of the crew to go off board the ship, to relax a little. It should boost moral." Hoshi added.

"What is the name of this planet?" T'pol asked.

"Quengavé"

"It Translates to Planet of Land. There is no natural body of water on the planet." Hoshi added.

_It explains why it is a port. Such a place could only support temporary habitants. Merchants would thrive here._ T'pol thought.

* * *

A Few Hours Later:

T'pol sat in her room, packing a small bag as she heard a beep at her door.

"Come in" She answered. It was Hoshi in bright yellow shorts and a tank top with a large sun hat on.

"Ready for some fun in the sun?" T'pol noticed her excitement but did not respond to it.

"I am only staying for the day. This is simply an emergency bag." Hoshi's face dropped.

"Whaaat? But-we-but-what about 'girl time'? They have beaches down there, well not beaches, there's no water but it's sandy at least."

"I am going to take a shuttle to the third asteroid. I'm going to buy some personal items."

"Ugh, no fun T'pol come one. You can't leave your best friend hanging." _Best friend? When was this label given to her?_

"I have no need for a vacation. I'll be going alone as well."

"Well me and Trevor are going to be staying together anyway so I'll see you back on ship in a few days." Hoshi waved and ran out of the room. T'pol sighed and but her bag strap over her shoulder and headed to the shuttle pods.

T'pol would never show it, but it was tempting to show her happiness with none of her crew around. The perfectly warm sunbeams of the distant sky flowed over her entire body. She wore her traditional Vulcan clothing. The asteroid was set up like a giant market, species in different shops and under different tents buying and selling, bargaining and negotiating. It was a calm but busy sight; bright colors lined each seller to attract the attention of their consumers while others used bold floral and perfuming smells. T'pol approached a tent which seemed to be selling types of teas. The man who was behind a table was fat and slimming with large nose folds and drooping ears making him look like an overweight seal. He was grunting and spitting out of his large mouth. T'pol kept her distance from his spit and clicked on her universal translator to understand what the man was saying.

"Is this tea?" She asked.

"Why yes yes yes. Tea tea tea it is." The man huffed and grumbled. She was unsure of his species but she was already unnerved by his useless repetition.

"What do you suggest for calming properties?" She asked

"Oh yes oh yes oh yes. These here these." He hobbled over to his other table and opened metallic cans, shoving them in T'pol's face to smell. They were disgusting and made her incredibly nauseous.

"Do you-" She had to pause in fear that she would vomit on the slimming man. "Do you have anything less pungent?"

"Your species woman, what is your species?"

"I am from a planet far away, Vulcan. We have, very sensitive noses." The man nodded and sent his thick folds flapping viciously, spewing some of his slime toward her. He grabbed another jar and brought it up to T'pol's nose. She was terrified but decided to take the chance. The smell was gloriously faint, like a faint rose tea with minty back tastes.

"I'll take that." She said, and paid the slimming creature. She turned back into the walking markets. A quick flash of blue crossed between some of the beings. _Starfleet ?_ She thought. Then she turned again, looking curiously, she thought she was the only one in the market. A flash of blond hair and blue crossed again in her peripheral vision. It prompted her to search for the mass. She weaved through aliens she had never seen before curious to this being, something draw her to it as it popped up and disappeared in several areas. Finally she saw a man in his uniform standing in front of a food tent. She approached him from the side and the man turned around, she knew him, he was one of Trip's engineers. But attached to him was the petit blonde woman she had been avoiding for days now. Rajiin'.

"T'pol hello" The man smiled.

"Ensign Degraw."T'pol greeted.

"Wow," He looked her up and down before averting his eyes "I'm sorry I've never seen you in uhm- regular cloths"

"It all right, we are off duty as of now." T'pol looked at Rajiin' who was bending over delectable cupake-like treats of various colors, completely unaware of her presence.

"You are on duty." T'pol noted. The man raised the wire that connected him to Rajiin's restraints.

"Yeah, babysitting duty. Wish I wasn't. It's beautiful here, I would love to go to that beach on the main planet. T'pol thought of Hoshi. She made a decision.

"I am your superior, give me the prisoner and you can enjoy the planet. Please, I already planned to go back on the ship late today. I don't mind watching her." Degraw was ecstatic and nearly jumped out of his boots. Rajiin' having heard T'pol straightened up and looked at her. T'pol said nothing and took the restraining wire from Degraw.

"Inform your superiors before you disappear" T'pol ordered

"Yes ma'am" he said saluting the Vulcan. In a moment, she held Rajiin' in her hands, not literally but held her by retrain. She looked into her brown eyes, appearing lighter from the sun, her skin a little tanned that it had been on the ship. The entire noisy market seemed to go quit.

"Would you like one of those?" T'pol asked.

"That boy as told not to buy me anything, just 'give me air'." T'pol turned to the merchant and bought two of one of the cupcakes she was looking at. She put one in Rajiin's awkwardly clasped hands, it seemed the blonde was a rabid beast about to devour prey. She took a single bite and her face melted in please. She glossed her lips with her tongue and let out an unexpected moan. T'pol almost wanted to smile, but instead took a bite out of hers and started coughing ferociously. She tried to stay upright and keep a tight grasp on the prisoner. She heard Rajiin' begin to giggle, it was beautiful, so delicate. But the spice in her throat overcame the warm feeling in her chest with pain and suffocation.

"A bit spicy?" Rajiin' asked smiling. After T'pol recovered she looked at the blonde with watery eyes, trying to keep her composure.

"I am all right." She saw the blonde had already finished hers so T'pol gave the alien woman her own. They walked down the market in silence toward where the shuttle pods would take them back. No one said anything on the ride back to the ship. T'pol glanced over at Rajiin' a few times, to keep an eye on her. The blonde seemed to be mesmerized by the dark skies as they left orbit.

Aboard the ship T'pol finally spoke. "Are you hungry?" She asked, Rajiin' shook her head no.

"Where are your quarters? I can bring you there."

"No!" Rajiin' begged. "Please I don't want to go there. I like being out." T'pol was very confused, the woman reacted in the same manor as abused prisoners of war.

"What is wrong with your room?"T'pol inquired, the blonde hesitated to respond.

"Uh-nothing, I just-there's no windows. It's one sheet, one mattress, that's it."

"Have you tried seducing any more men?" T'pol asked. Rajiin' scoffed.

"No I swear. One mistake and I'm stuck. Honestly, I got more hospitality from the Xindi." The thought made her laugh a little, a sorrowful laugh. T'pol nodded and walked the blonde woman down the empty halls of Enterprise to her own quarters. Before entering, T'pol looked into the blonde's eyes, as if searching for a question or perhaps even an answer. Rajiin' just smiled at the Vulcan. Perhaps that was enough of an answer.

"Normally you would not be allowed in this room, especially after our last encounter here."

"About that. I didn't know you then, I was doing my job."

"Is that an apology for potentially causing me permanent brain damage?" Rajiin' looked down shamefully. Unable to look into the Vulcan's eyes.

"No, I'm not sorry. It didn't matter who you were, none of you mattered. But, I'm happy, it was you, I didn't want to harm you though." As she looked back up, tears filled Rajiin's now puffy eyes.

"Regardless of your last visit on Enterprise, the only way you can be free of restraint is to prove yourself trustworthy. Humans, they give second, third sometimes fourth chances to people, despite a pattern. If you cooperate, you will probably be able to roam free here until we bring you somewhere safe." The tears began to fall from Rajiin's eyes and though she tried not to, she choked sobs and from the exhaustion, plopped down on T'pol's bed.

"I don't feel myself with-with these things on my hands" She raised her hands shining the metal gloves in the light of T'pol's room. T'pol knelt on the floor and took the end of the wire that bore a chip. She inserted it into a slot in the gloves and with a hiss they opened. Rajiin' gasped at the action.

"Perhaps now is a time to prove you can be trusted." T'pol looked at the woman's hands, they were a pale white compared to her now tanned skin. Her nails were ragged and chipped and her hands were rough and peeling. The Vulcan went into her bathroom and brought out a small towel and box. She sat beside Rajiin' thankful her tears stopped flowing, placed the towel on her lap and took thin scissors out of the box along with a vial of oil. With an open palm she invited Rajiin' to give her the battered hand. With shaky hands the blonde alien placed one hand into T'pols. Both women, not realizing of the other, closed their eyes in comfort because the wave of peace that passed over them in contact was overwhelming for them both. They opened their eyes in unison and T'pol looked into the brown eyes to get permission, Rajiin' smile and nodded at the darker-skinned woman. Rajiin' had noticed before of course, but now the skin-tight uniform on T'pol had seemed even more flattering. The curve in her waist, the swell of her breast, the small amount of hot flesh showing under her collar, it sent her heart pulsing.

T'pol was gentle, she rubbed off any excess skin, and rubbed the oil on Rajiin's hand, she rubbed circle in her palm, pulling the wet oil between al of her fingers. A slight moan escaped through Rajiin's teeth but T'pol pretended to ignore it. At the end of the massage she took the scissors and gently clipped away the chipped nail, not saying a word the entire time. Their breaths began to match in speed and depth, they were one and understanding. When finished, T'pol repeated the task on the other hand.

Rajiin' felt a loss when T'pol finally finished her manicure, an immediate coldness occupied her hands.

"Thank you" Rajiin' said, almost as faint as a whisper. The gratitude sent chills through the Vulcan's spine, why was she feeling like this? How could she trust this woman? She was going to stand up to put her box of toiletries away but she felt Rajiin grab at her wrist and bring her back sitting on the bed.

"There is no need to thank me Rajiin', I will speak to the Captain about allowing your hands free but for now you still have to-" T'pol was silenced by a single finger placed on her lips. The desire in the blonde's eyes could have consumed an entire city. T'pol felt her throat begin to close, she was not sure if she was breathing anymore.

"Mmm thank you, just accept it as that…T'pol" T'pol let out a deep breath at the sound of her name. God it sounded so perfect. Rajiin' placed her soft hands on T'pol's cheek, caressing it gently. T'pol was stuck frozen, her mind went into panic that perhaps she was under the mind control of this woman again. How could she let her do this, manipulate her again. But as the blonde leaned in, its as if T'pol could hear it from her heart, that she was frozen on her own accord. Rajiin's pink lips pressed into her own, first so gently that T'pol could only feel a slight pressure, she hadn't kissed her back. Rajiin' tried again, placing one hand on the Vulcan's waist, pushing herself above her and allowing T'pol to fall backward on the bed. Her face s millimeters away, she journeyed to the Vulcan's ear and whispered "Breath". In an instant she was back looking deeply in T'pol's eyes, the Vulcan exhaled and braced herself. Rajiin' was holding herself up on her arms but now slowly lowered herself a top T'pol, they both closed their eyes as Rajiin' more hungrily kissed T'pol again. There was such yearning and desire, they fit perfectly as the blond woman began to moan with each kiss. T'pol panted from her chest and grabbed Rajiin's thick locks as they fed upon each other's lips. Rajiin' finally broke away and saw the shock on T'pol's face. She smiled.

"My thanks goes even further pointy ears" She said as one of her hands travelled up T'pol's waist and over her plump breast. The Vulcan, thinking about what was happening pushed Rajiin to the side and stood up. She cleared her throat that was try from the oxygen exchanged between lips.

"Put your gloves back on. Y-you can go back in your quarters, I will get an officer to tend to your-"

"T'pol what the hell are you-" The blonde was completely taken aback but T'pol's sudden change. The Vulcan breathed deeply before she spoke.

"I know your 'profession' leads you for certain kinds of thanks. But I am in no need for the gratitude and desperation of a prostitute." Rajiin' scoffed, obviously furious by the coffin, her face reddened in anger but she contained herself to mumblings.

"Fucking great, I can't believe you- this is-wow I never thought- you know, I don't fucking care anymore"

Rajiin' shuffled around the bed and put the gloved cuffs on herself, finally she addressed a distressed T'pol, standing in front of her as stiff as steel.

"Well are you ready to take me back or what" The blonde couldn't hide her distaste, she held out the wire and T'pol shakily took it from her. She accompanied her to her quarters and let the woman in, locking the door from the outside. She placed her forehead on the closed door, sighing deeply in regret. She was sure she could hear faint sobs through the other side. She walked back toward her own room, head low, ready for her day to come to an end.

A/N: two submissions in one day, yup yup. This is a little shorter but I'll put another chapter up soon.


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